The possibility of generating of partially coherent electromagnetic radiation, by collinear passage of the radiation and of a relativistic electron beam through a sequence of electric or magnetic fields of alternating polarity, has been recognized since the first publication by H. Motz, Journal of Applied Physics 22 527 (1950) on the subject. Motz considered a sequence of alternating direction magnetic fields, regularly spaced and transversely oriented relative to the common direction of travel of light beam and electron beam. Let L.sub.o be the fundamental period of variation of direction of the sequence of transverse magnetic fields and let the beam electrons move with velocity v.perspectiveto.c. The light beam photons will be absorbed and re-emitted by the electrons, and the frequency .nu. of emitted radiation will depend upon angle of observation .theta. relative to the common beam direction according to .nu.=v/L.sub.o (1-cos.theta.). For a highly relativistic electron beam and modest transverse magnetic field strengths, most of the radiation appears in the forward direction, in a narrow cone of half angle of the the order of .DELTA..theta.=m.sub.e c.sup.2 /E.sub.b where ##EQU1## is the electron total energy.
Motz, Thon and Whitehurst, in Jour. of Appl. Phys. 24 826 (1953), further considered the co-propagating light beam and electron beam in a waveguide, obtained some interesting general classical relativistic relationships for electron orbits in a spatially varying B-field, and reported the experimental observation of visible and millimeter wavelength radiation for field strengths B.perspectiveto.3,900 and 5,600 Gauss.
In Proceedings of the Symposium on Millimeter Waves (Polytechnic Press, Brooklyn, 1960) p. 155, Motz and Nakamura analyzed the amplification of a millimeter wavelength electromagnetic wave interacting with a relativistic electron beam in the presence of a rectangular waveguide and a spatially oscillatory electric field, using a model of J. R. Pierce. The analysis was purely classical, and the gain was rather modest.
Pantell, Soncini and Puthoff discuss some initial considerations on stimulated photon-electron scattering in I.E.E.E. Journal of Quantum Electronics QE-4 905 (1968). Collinear scattering, with the incident photon energy h.nu. being &lt;&lt; incident electron energy E.sub.el and periodic deflection of the electron beam by a microwave radiation field, is analyzed briefly; and a Compton scattering laser is proposed, using the input/output wavelength relation ##EQU2## Useful gain from the device appears to be limited to the middle-high infrared range .lambda..gtoreq.20 .mu.m.
Mourier, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,679, discloses a Compton effect laser that proceeds from the same principles as Pantell et al, supra. This invention, like that of Pantell et al, appears to require provision of an electron storage ring or the like for rapidly moving electrons and an optical cavity that is a part of the ring, for causing electron-photon scattering.
R. M. Phillips, in I.R.E. Transactions on Electron Devices, 231 (October 1960), used a periodic magnetic field, whose period may vary, to focus and axially bunch an electron beam traveling in an unloaded waveguide, together with a monochromatic light beam, to increase electron beam kinetic energy at the expense of light beam energy. The electron beam velocity was adjusted so that a beam electron travels one period L along its trajectory in the time required for the light beam (of wavelength .lambda.) to travel a distance L+.lambda.. The electron then senses only the retarding portion or only the accelerating portion of the electromagnetic wave. This approach converts transverse momentum, arising from the presence of the electromagnetic wave, into changes in axial momentum of the electron beam so that beam bunching occurs. Peak efficiency was about 10 percent for the experiments reported.
J. M. J. Madey, in Journal of Applied Physics 42 1906 (1971), discusses stimulated emission of bremsstrahlung by a relativistic electron into a single electromagnetic mode of a parallel light beam, where both electron and light beam move through a periodic, transverse d.c. magnetic field. Quantum mechanical and semi-classical calculations of transition rates and gain indicate that finite, practical gain is available in the infrared and visible portions of the optical spectrum. These considerations are incorporated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,410, issued to Madey for tunable apparatus for generation/amplification of coherent radiation in a single or a few closely spaced electromagnetic modes.
Hirschfield, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,398,376 for a relativistic electron cyclotron maser, discloses and claims use of an axial, monoenergetic relativistic electron beam (E.sub.kinetic .perspectiveto.5 keV) a spatially-varying longitudinal magnetic field coaxial with the beam, a weaker, transverse periodic electric or magnetic with a resulting helical pitch matching that of the electron motion at the predetermined beam velocity and a cavity resonator with a mode frequency matching that of the cyclotron frequency of the resulting spiraling electrons. The apparatus relies upon electron-cyclotron radiation and ignores any synchronization of electron beam and the electromagnetic beam to be amplified.
A combination free electron laser/gas laser with high pulse repetition rates is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,686, issued to Brau, Rockwood and Stern. In the embodiment disclosed, the free electron laser operates at infrared wavelengths and the gas laser operates at ultraviolet wavelengths. The monoenergetic electron beam is initially bunched and accelerated to .perspectiveto.10 MeV kinetic energy and directed into and out of a multiplicity of serially arranged free electron lasers by turning magnets positioned at the ends of these lasers; finally, the electron beam is directed axially through a gas laser to utilize and convert additional electron beam energy to electromagnetic energy. The free electron laser appears to be of conventional form, utilizing fixed period magnetic fields to produce electron bremsstrahlung radiation and an optical resonator for light beam amplification.